Eminent economist Dr Debapriya Bhattacharya has urged all political parties to make firm commitments in their election manifestos to eliminate discrimination from Bangladesh’s legal and social frameworks, calling such pledges a moral and constitutional necessity ahead of the next national election.
“Political parties have to pledge to eradicate discrimination from the legal context in their election manifestos,” said Dr Debapriya, convener of the Citizen’s Platform for SDGs, Bangladesh, while addressing the opening session of a national dialogue titled “Elimination of Discrimination in Bangladesh: Legal Context, Current Reality and Way Forward.”
He noted that while the Constitution guarantees equality and justice for all, there remains a stark gap between those promises and the lived realities of marginalized and vulnerable communities. “The Citizen’s Platform is dedicated to eliminating discrimination in every form within our legal and societal structures,” he added.
“Including such commitments in party manifestos would be a concrete step toward real implementation,” he further said.
The event was organized by the Citizen’s Platform for SDGs, Bangladesh in collaboration with the Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST), Manusher Jonno Foundation (MJF), and Nagorik Uddyog (Citizen’s Initiative), with support from the Embassy of Switzerland and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).
At the same dialogue, Attorney General Md Asaduzzaman echoed Dr Debapriya’s call, urging political parties to publicly commit to the formulation of a strong anti-discrimination act.
“Political parties will not get our votes unless they make a commitment to formulate this act,” he said, stressing that “a vague act cannot provide remedy” and calling for collective pressure on the Law Commission and Law Ministry to expedite the drafting process.
The attorney general was speaking as the chief guest at the civic dialogue, held at the Bangladesh-China Friendship Exhibition Center in Dhaka.
The session was chaired by Dr Debapriya, while BLAST Executive Director and senior jurist Barrister Sara Hossain presented the keynote paper.
Other speakers included Supreme Court Bar Association President Barrister AM Mahbub Uddin Khokon, NCP Joint Convener Khalid Saifullah, Gana Forum Acting President Subrata Chowdhury, CPB General Secretary Abdullah Al Kafi Ratan, economist Dr S R Osmani, and UNDP Bangladesh Senior Adviser Dragan Popovich.
